The Memo

Archives for December 2016

The Tupelo High School band has been invited to represent Mississippi by playing at the Presidential Inauguration in January. But first, it must raise about $100,000.

THS band director Rick Murphy (7:21) joins Derek and guest co-host Leslie Criss on today’s episode to speak about the great honor for the band program and to provide an update on fundraising efforts.

Also on today’s show, Daily Journal local government reporter Caleb Bedillion (16:58) has an update on the effort to make Tupelo a railroad quiet zone. That means the city would put in a number of precautions at each of its railroad crossings, and trains would not blow their whistles as they travel through town. Mayor Jason Shelton cited it as a priority early in his term. However, with estimates now saying it will cost about $5.5 million to make the needed upgrades, Shelton has said the issue remains a priority but will not likely happen any time soon.

M. Scott Morris (33:04) reviews the movie “Sing.” Derek (38:51) has the highlights of the New Year’s weekend entertainment scene – Tupelo Community Theatre’s masquerade ball, ice skating at the arena and the Almost New Year’s Eve party at the JJ Rogers Building.

The four-year graduation rate at Tupelo High has finally crept above 85 percent, a goal district officials set five years ago and have been reaching for ever since.

Education reporter Emma Kent (15:03) co-hosts today’s show with Brad and also talks about those efforts at Tupelo High.

The school’s graduation rate was around 70 percent in 2011. Now, it is about 86.7 percent. Principal Jason Harris said getting students from ninth grade to graduation depends on building relationships with students and keeping teachers focused. Teachers at THS also have made a concerted effort to monitor students who struggle academically and look for ways to help them.

Also on today’s show, business editor Dennis Seid (21:29) talks about last-minute holiday shopping. Studies say that about 60 percent of consumers had not completed their shopping as of Dec. 13. Retailers also are expecting a 3.6 percent increase in sales this year.

Dennis also talks about the Tupelo High band (25:43) being chosen to participate in the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20. But first, the program must raise about $100,000 to send all 150 of its members to the event.

Advances in medical technology are improving lives of Northeast Mississippi residents. On today’s episode, we explore a few examples.

Zack Orsborn (10:58) joins Derek and Brad to talk about some new methods being used at North Mississippi Medical Center. Zack recently spoke with officials at NMMC’s Sleep Disorder Center and the NMMC Heart and Vascular Institute about new technologies.

The sleep center has been using more in-home sleep tests, which help it reach patients who have difficulty with lab tests. The heart institute recently switched to cryoablation, a new technique for treating patients with an irregular rhythm in the upper chest. It cuts back on both patient stay time and the cost of hospital bills.

Meanwhile, Michaela Morris (19:36) joins the show to talk about a paraplegic woman who is learning to walk again using a robotic exoskeleton.

Carla Belue of Red Bay, Alabama, has relied on a wheelchair for 24 years. Recently she was able to acquire the ReWalk robotically assisted walking system. She comes to NMMC’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Center three times a week to learn how to use the device with the hopes to eventually use it at home. Belue is the first person in Mississippi to use the system, which is trigged by shifts in her center of gravity to take steps.

The Mississippi Legislature will need to act early in the 2017 session to free up about $30 million that currently sits in limbo.

The money was supposed to be transferred to the state general fund under the controversial Budget Transparency and Simplification Act. But an attorney general’s opinion ruled that it can’t be moved without further action by lawmakers.

After many decades of planning, the leadership of the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society has announced that construction of a new animal shelter could begin as early as next month.

Local government reporter Caleb Bedillion (11:05) joins Derek and guest co-host Leslie Criss on today’s episode to talk about the latest plans for the shelter.

The new shelter will replace the current building that is crammed and suffers from electrical problems. It will triple the amount of space to almost 18,000 square feet.

Fundraising for the shelter began a decade ago. It will be constructed off of Cliff Gookin Boulevard on property dedicated to the Humane Society.

Also on today’s episode, business editor Dennis Seid (17:02) talks about the longevity of Tupelo’s Bonanza restaurant. The eatery opened in 1973 and is now one of only 12 remaining Bonanza restaurants in the country.

Mississippi public health and law enforcement officials fear the state is on the cusp of an opioid overdose crisis.

That’s because the state ranks fifth in the nation for the number of opioids being prescribed. Last week, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant issued an executive order to create an Opioid and Heroin Study Task Force.

To better understand the crisis, the Daily Journal has run an extensive two-day series examining the issues with opioid abuse and the steps being taken now to combat a potential health care emergency. Reporters Michaela Morris and William Moore (12:13) completed that series, and they join Derek and Brad on today’s episode for an extensive discussion of the topic.

Enough opioid painkillers are prescribed in Mississippi each year that every person in the state could have 70 pills. The state has not yet seen the increase in opioid-related deaths that has plagued other states like Kentucky, West Virginia and Alabama. But with prescription rates so high, officials fear it may only be a matter of time.

Michaela and William talk about the growing problem, as well as options that are available for recovery and rehabilitation.

Also, Daily Journal Capitol Bureau chief Bobby Harrison (48:56) joins us to talk about the future of civil service protection in Mississippi.

Legislative leaders and Gov. Phil Bryant are considering removing the safeguard for state workers. They say doing so would make for a more efficient and less costly state government. Opponents say the civil service system protects employees from political patronage.

After weeks of on-again and off-again debate involving the Mississippi state flag, the Tupelo City Council has abandoned a plan to call for a new flag.

The Council had initially expressed support for crafting a resolution that would ask the Mississippi Legislature to change the state’s flag. Instead, Council President Lynn Bryan said on Tuesday it is a bad time to take up the controversial issue with municipal elections looming.

There has been a whirlwind of activity lately involving the Council and the flag. Daily Journal local government reporter Caleb Bedillion (13:10) joins Derek and Brad to discuss the latest twist in the saga.

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on the Pearl Harbor U.S. Naval base in Hawaii.

The so-called day that will live in infamy launched the United States into the Second World War. Daily Journal reporter Zack Orsborn (12:01) recently spoke with Northeast Mississippi veterans about their recollections of that day. He joins Derek and Brad on today’s show to share their stories and tell how the experience inspired the men to join the service.

Also, Daily Journal law enforcement reporter William Moore (17:28) talks about the end of burn bans across Northeast Mississippi. Governor Phil Bryant lifted the state-level burn ban last week, and many counties followed suit and lifted their individual bans this week. However, officials with the Mississippi Forestry Commission still urge caution when participating in outdoor burning.

Meanwhile, food editor Ginna Parsons (26:47) has the highlights of this week’s food section. That includes a creamy wild rice and mushroom soup she recently made.

The new director of the Mississippi Highway Patrol has deep roots in Tupelo.

Chris Gillard is a graduate of Tupelo High School and was a key fixture on the football team’s defense in the 1980s. His mom still lives in Tupelo, as do four of his siblings and his now grown daughter.

Today, he oversees the state’s most visible and perhaps most elite law enforcement agency.

Daily Journal Capitol Bureau chief Bobby Harrison (5:08) wrote a profile on Gillard in Sunday’s paper and joins Derek and Brad to talk more about him.

Also on today’s episode, business editor Dennis Seid (13:07) discusses Jack Hudson, an employee at the McDonald’s in New Albany who has worked for the fast-food giant for 50 years.

And chief photographer Thomas Wells (22:20) talks about his photo essay on ice skating at the BancorpSouth Arena.

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Teachers in high-performing schools could soon get a pay raise. That’s because state leaders are calling for the legislature to fund a teacher reward program it passed in 2014.

The program calls for A-level schools and those that increased a letter grade from the previous year to receive $100 per student to go toward salaries. B schools would get an extra $75 per student. The schools would receive the money as a lump sum and could then decide how to divide it among teachers and other staff.

Daily Journal Capitol Bureau chief Bobby Harrison (10:07) joins Derek and guest co-host Emma Kent on today’s episode to provide more details on the program. Both Gov. Phil Bryant and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves had called for it to be included in next year’s state budget.

Also on today’s episode, Zack Orsborn (17:44) has an update on the sudden rise of the Tupelo-based rap group Rae Sremmurd. Zack discusses their hit “Black Beatles” that skyrocketed to the No. 1 spot in the Billboard Hot 100, with the help of the viral “Mannequin Challenge.” Zack also talks about the upcoming SremmFest, as well as his interview with Bernadette Walker, the mother of the two brothers who make up Rae Sremmurd.

M. Scott Morris (27:17) reviews the new Disney hit movie, “Moana,” and Derek (33:22) has the highlights of entertainment scene.